Tesla Model S Plaid (2024)

FAQs

Can any car beat a Tesla Plaid? ›

The short answer is yes. But here's the longer version. Carwow lines up a Model S Plaid against a heavily modified Porsche 911 Turbo and a tuned BMW M5. All three cars have around 1,000 horsepower and the Tesla is the heaviest at around 4,85 pounds (2,200 kilograms).

So from a safety standpoint, we lack some confidence in the Plaid's stopping hardware. Even more disappointing is the Plaid's steering, which always feels too light and lacks a connection to the road. It's exacerbated by the awkward steering yoke that doesn't seem to serve any ergonomic function.

The Quickest Cars inMotorTrendHistory. Back in 2021, we launched a Model S Plaid to 60 mph in 1.98 seconds, and Lucid says its Sapphire can beat that with a 1.89-second holeshot.

Model S Plaid has the quickest acceleration of any vehicle in production. Updated battery architecture for all Model S trims enables back-to-back track runs without performance degradation.

Currently the fastest Tesla is the Model S Plaid. It will leave pretty well every production car including Lambos and Ferraris in its dust from standstill. You're looking at a car here that can do 0 to 60 mph in around 2 seconds and the quarter mile in about 8.7 seconds.

But gasoline and horsepower tend to pay off at high speeds, which is why the Bugatti ends up winning both races. Especially in the half-mile roll, you see the Bugatti struggle at first and then charge past the Tesla on its way to a 206-mph run. The Tesla runs out of steam in the low 180s.

A 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid previously held the title of quickest EV ever tested by C/D. While the Sapphire tied the Plaid's incredible 60-mph time of 2.1 seconds, the Lucid hit 100 mph in 4.2 ticks and finished the quarter-mile in 9.3 seconds at 153 mph.

LaFerrari does the quarter mile in 9.5 at 145mph, Tesla passes the post about a second later at 10.5 at 125mph. LaFerrari will then continue to pull ahead as it has a much higher top speed.

In this case, the limit is 328 kph, which equals precisely 203.8 mph. The highway is actually quiet enough for a full-on acceleration run from a standstill, so in addition to a 200-mph run, we see just how ridiculously quick the Model S Plaid gets there.

The Plaid's speed justifies the price

That being said, one thing is for certain: The Tesla Model S Plaid is ridiculously fast. No number of embarrassing headlines or wacky statements from the company or its founder can change the outrageous performance figures of the Plaid model.

What does Plaid stand for Tesla? ›

The "Plaid" name is applied to the performance model and is a reference to the only speed faster than "Ludicrous" in the movie Spaceballs. The Plaid model includes one motor for the front axle and two motors for the rear axle; the starting price was $131,100.

So before you consider getting one, you probably want to know how long a Tesla battery lasts. A Tesla battery goes approximately 303 to 405 miles on a full charge and is reported to last about 300,000 to 500,000 miles over its lifespan.

The 2025 Taycan Turbo GT is the ultimate form of Porsche's electric sedan. With up to 1,019 hp on tap and a 2.1-second 0-to-60 time, the $231,000 EV is the company's ultimate Tesla Model S Plaid and Lucid Air Sapphire competitor.

As of today, the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 crushes all with a 0-60 mph time of just 1.66 seconds. That's simply absurd, but keep in mind the Demon was engineered with the single-minded purpose of going fast in a straight line.

The Tesla Model S Plaid can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in an unbelievable 2.1 seconds. This is almost 0.3 seconds faster than the 2.4 s acceleration time for the F1 car.

A 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid previously held the title of quickest EV ever tested by C/D. While the Sapphire tied the Plaid's incredible 60-mph time of 2.1 seconds, the Lucid hit 100 mph in 4.2 ticks and finished the quarter-mile in 9.3 seconds at 153 mph.